Eadie B. (eadieburke) -
Two young children, Pearl and John Harper, are being raised alone by their mother in Cresap's Landing, Ohio. Their father Ben has just been executed for killing two men in the course of an armed robbery. Ben never told anyone where he hid the ten thousand dollars he stole; not his widow Willa, not his lawyer, nor his cell-mate Henry "Preacher" Powell. But Preacher, with his long history of charming his way into widows hearts and lives, has an inkling that Ben's money could be within his reach. As soon as he is free, Preacher makes his way up the river to visit the Harper family where -- he hopes -- a little child shall lead him to the fortune that he seeks. This book was inspired by serial killer Harry Powell who was hung for murders of 2 widows and 3 children. I found him to be pretty creepy and frightening. Good book to read for Halloween. Beautifully written. If you love Southern Gothic Noir, you will enjoy this book.
Maura (maura853) -
Awful, just awful. A book that pretty well sums up everything that was wrong, and utterly resistible, about American fiction of the 1950s: turgid, overblown writing; casual misogyny; lazy characterization masquerading as Deep Psychology. Yuck.
